Features and articles

General interest articles, published by the Society, covering topical geographical themes.

11.03.13 - Mapping the 'Anthropocene' (PDF)Geographer Dr Benjamin Hennig FRGS, of the University of Sheffield writes, explaining how new types of mapping are helping to explain the rapidly changing environment of the world.

09.07.12 - Coastal conversations (PDF)What stories do we tell of coastal change? How do we tell them and from where are they told? Part of the Imagining Change: Coastal Conversations project, a new film led by Stephen Daniels (Professor of Human Geography, University of Nottingham) showcases creative engagements between arts and humanities scholars and coastal landscapes in contrasting parts of Britain.

06.03.12 - Geography in the UKThis new briefing from the Society provides key background information related to geography in the UK, in relation to each of these areas: Geography in School; Studying in Higher Education; Geographical Research; and Geography in the Workplace (NB: This briefing is updated regularly to reflect new statistics and information as it is published).

01.11.11 - Migration and global environmental change (PDF)Geographers are at the heart of a new international report published by the Government Office of Science’s Foresight programme which claims the major challenges associated with migration and environmental change have been underestimated. The report states that "by focusing solely on those that might leave vulnerable areas, we risk neglecting those that will be ‘trapped’ and those that will actually move towards danger"

02.09.11 - Geography of 9/11 (PDF)Did 9/11 change the world? A special themed section of one of the Society’s three flagship academic journals The Geographical Journal sought to address this very question in a series of specially commissioned essays. Editor of the journal, Klaus Dodds, Professor of Geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London, looks at the issues raised in some more detail.

15.08.11 - Understanding London's new East End article (PDF)Geographers have been studying the 'decline' of the traditional white working class population and culture of London’s East End over the last 40 years, and its replacement by a decidedly multi-ethnic one as part of a wider process of de-industrialisation. Professors Chris Hamnett and Tim Butler of Kings College London have looked at the impact of these social and economic changes on schools, and in particular the importance the aspiration parents have for their children.

02.08.11 - Geography of town (PDF)Geographer Nicholas Crane, FRGS celebrates the forgotten world of the town “smaller than a city, more intimate, more surprising”, in a new four part BBC2 Series that began on 28 July 2011.

21.06.11 - Mapping the nation (PDF)Tuesday 21 June 2011 marked 220 years since the establishment of Society Corporate Benefactor Ordnance Survey (OS), Britain’s national mapping agency. Though the way in which maps are presented may have changed significantly over that time, with geographical information now largely available and used in digital formats rather than the paper of old, maps and mapping data continues to play a hugely important role in everyone’s daily lives.

01.04.11 - Earthquakes and plate tectonics (PDF)We have drawn upon a selection of resources which aim to explain how and why earthquakes occur, why some result in a Tsunami, and also examine what warning systems are in place.

29.11.10 - The Empire of Climate (PDF)Geography played a leading part in a Radio 4 series at the end of 2010, which investigated how climate shapes various aspects of our lives.

03.02.11 - Fair Trade in Bangladesh (PDF)Fair Trade is believed to have a significant influence on reducing poverty and improving social wellbeing in some of the world’s poorest countries. Studies have tended to focus on the important impact of commodities such as coffee, tea, and cocoa. Another area which has real potential to make a difference, particularly for women and those without land is the handicraft market.

09.10.10 - It is all in the name (PDF)Place names matter. They not only help to locate particular locations but often invoke particular feelings and attachments. From Lake Disappointment in Australia to Victoria Falls in Zambia, place names can and do commemorate geographical conditions and/or former heads of states. Place names can also provide vivid insights into contemporary geopolitics.

30.04.10 - Geography and the General Election (PDF)Geography has been at the heart of the 2010 General Election on Thursday 6 May. From playing a key role in the tactics used by the parties in their campaigns, to the new boundary map of Parliamentary constituencies to better reflect our changing population.

17.09.09 - Antarctic Environmental Change (PDF)Geographers at the British Antarctic Survey have developed unique mapping techniques to locate emperor penguin breeding colonies in Antarctica, providing a baseline for monitoring their response to environmental change.

24.08.09 - Urban Climate Change Challenge (PDF)A leading geographer is one of the key members of the United Nations (UN-HABITAT)’s new "Cities and Climate Change Initiative" (CCCI).

11.06.09 - Recording studios in decline (PDF)Britain’s music industry has been one of the country’s major success stories over the last four decades, however this may be under threat according to new research.